


Love Actually...

by lady_meatball



Series: A December to Remember [9]
Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Chris Evans (Actor) RPF
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Romance, Christmas surprises, Domestic! Evans, Domestic!Evans, F/M, First Christmas, Gen, K C & the Sunshine Band, K&C, Tooth Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 05:02:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11201007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_meatball/pseuds/lady_meatball
Summary: Christmas 2016- Chris and Katie’s first Christmas together as a couple. He’s back in Massachusetts, she’s in Nevada; both are spending their last Christmas’s with their families before becoming ‘Man and Wife’, but being on opposite sides of the country doesn’t mean they haven’t spent the day together…Chris has one last Christmas surprise up his sleeve, something Katie never expected…





	Love Actually...

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings- None. The FLUFFIEST of Tooth Rotting Cotton Candy Fluff.

 

[Originally posted by tsixiraki](https://tmblr.co/ZwE4Ok2FOZdun)

* * *

 

[Originally posted by lizzysong](https://tmblr.co/ZIkchs1xFqj2L)

**”SANTAAAAAA!”** That one word acted as an alarm clock, startling Chris and Dodger from a sound sleep; Chris was wrapped around the pillow from the side of the bed closest to the wall, Katie’s pillow when she had visited, while Dodger rested his head on the bottom portion of the cushion. His dog groaned, laying his head back down as another yelled proclamation was let out, this time from Miles and Stella, and not Scott, like the last exclamation.

_**“SANTA!!!!”** _

_**_**“CHRISTMAS!!!!!!”** _   
** _

Groaning, Chris reluctantly let go of the pillow to roll onto his back and begin mustering the energy to get out of bed before he was forced as the pounding of many feet went running down the hall to the staircases. Still half asleep, he reached to scratch behind Dodgers ear as he sat up.

“ _Merry Christmas_ , bud. Momma sent a present back with me for you…we’ll call her in a little while-” He told his dog on a wide yawn, rubbing his free hand over his face repeatedly, muffling his voice as he added, “-once the sun comes up and she’s had a cup of coffee so she doesn’t kill us…she misses you, _ya know_.”

Dodger’s tongue lolled out of his mouth, his face happy and turning to catch Chris out of the corner of his eye. He smiled down at his dog before standing and pulling on clothes; tilting his head at the door, Chris asked, “You coming downstairs? _Come on_ …”

Stomping down the stairs towards the living room now dressed in the new gear Katie had given him in his ‘Fanboy 101’ gift basket, the excitement more and more palpable the closer he got to the tree; the three kids sat on the carpet, bouncing in their spots, snooping the tags for their names as the rest of the adults in the house made their way back into the living room with cups of coffee, phones, cameras and the video recorder to capture the chaos about to ensue when the three Tasmanian devils were let loose on the presents.

“Unca Chris, can Kitty watch us open pwesents?” Stella asked, her messy hair practically crackling with her eagerness and excitement.

Lisa walked up, surprising him in his drowsy state, but all was forgiven when she handed over a steaming mug for him.

“ _Thanks_ , Ma. Stella Bella-” He smiled, showing his appreciation for his mother’s gesture before turning to blink slowly through his heavy lids at the three faces staring up at him from in front of the tree, explaining, “-it’s still _night time_ where Kitty is. Santa hasn’t visited her house yet…if we wake her up, how can he leave her presents?”

“ _Ohhh…_ ” She said softly, making Chris, Lisa, and Shanna smile and chuckle, looking between each of the others as the rest of the family filed in to start the madness.

Claiming his spot in a chair near the tree, Chris pulled a folding tray closer to set his coffee on just as Dodger came walking back in from taking a drink from the water bowl in the kitchen, laying down next to his chair; he reached into the pocket of his new lounger sweatpants, complete with PATRIOTS written down one leg and the image of Pat hiking the ball at the bottom, to retrieve his phone to capture a quick video of the ‘before’ along with a quick greeting to Katie from him and the rest of the family.

Pressing send, Chris smiled as he looked up from his screen, noting it wasn’t quite 4 AM in the general Las Vegas area, and knew Katie was out for the count for a few more hours, no doubt curled around her pillow just like had been when he was awakened with a jolt and hopefully dreaming of him since he knew she was having a rough time with the last week of him being gone.

[Originally posted by usedpimpa](https://tmblr.co/ZOdZes2DgyFLz)

The vibration of an incoming message buzzed on the mattress, causing Katie to roll over, snuggling into the nest of pillows before settling back into a deep sleep, her hand almost resting on her phone…how she had fallen asleep, seeking comfort in knowing Chris was only a phone call away and seeking comfort in the photos she had of him stored in the device.

* * *

A sudden shift to the foot of the mattress preluded a series of heavy limbs waking me as I was stepped on. Groaning, I drew my shoulder up to my ear to protect myself along with my hand as I croaked, “ _Cassie_ … _Cassie_ , **stop**! Lay down. **Lay down**! Good girl…”

“ _ **Merry Christmas!**_ ” I heard faintly through the earplugs I wore when I slept over at my mom and stepdad’s house in Pahrump. “ _Katie…Kay-tieeeeeeee-_ ” my mother, Patti called in a sing-song voice, walking into the guestroom to grab the lump in the covers that was my left foot to shake; Cassie, my stepdad’s butter yellow lab stood, beginning her prancing and sniffing all over again as my mom called, “- _Time to get up_! Santa came, there’s coffee, cinnamon rolls and bacon are cooking…Cassie wants you to come open presents so she can get hers…”

Slowly I moved my hand to pull one earplug, peeking out from behind the safety of my sweatshirt hood and the layers of blankets. Shooting a bleary glare at the foot of the bed, I quipped back in a hoarse croak, “You’re starting to sound more and more like Gram, you know…what time is it, anyway?”

“It’s almost eight.” She answered, scratching Cassie’s head. She held a mug of coffee in her other hand, and I could tell she had only been up a short while herself, not having taken off her jacket from her usual morning routine of one/two-a full, steaming mug to accompany her as she woke while smoking her first couple of cigarettes. “And I’m **_NOT_** turning into my mother, _thank you very much_ …I let you sleep in past 5:30…”

“Yeah, because _YOU_ were still passed the hell out. And Will, he knows better than to poke the bear…” I groaned as I stretched, feeling joints and ligaments pop and crack after a night’s sleep; that little dig hadn’t only been meant for my mom…the joke was in jest of myself as well. I had gone to bed around 11:15, about half an hour after Chris was nodding off while Face Timing with me and I told him to hang up and go to bed. I knew I’d got the better end of the deal, because the kids would have him up early, so he had only gotten a handful of hours to sleep. Rubbing my eyes, I pulled the other ear plug, and rolled over to drop them on the low nightstand, grabbing my glasses to push onto my nose before sitting up. “ _Merry Christmas_ , by the way.”

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart. Any messages?” She smiled, tipping her head towards my phone as I peeled back layer after layer of bedding to free myself, in need of emptying my bladder and finding the biggest mug in the cupboard for the first of many cups of strong Holiday dark roast, the last of my Starbucks markout stash taking a hit in the next two days before Chris was set to return…My mother was just as eager I was to hear from him, having gotten her own decent amount of time to chat with him over video calls earlier in the last two evenings; she had talked to him briefly over the phone numerous times, as well as seen him on video calls with me, but that was the first extended conversation and interaction she had with him…even my stepdad and Cassie got a few minutes on the receiving end the night before while I was up to my elbows in spaghetti sauce and lasagna noodles prepping for tonight’s Christmas meal, just the three of us and Cassie.

Climbing out of bed, I touched my feet to the floor from the elevated mattress, standing; pulling the covers back into place, I moved my phone, unplugging it from the charger; a descending list of notification bubbles ran down past the bottom of the screen, telling me I had lots of waiting messages, and not all of them from were from the half of my heart currently in the Boston ‘burbs.

“Loads…give me a minute to pee, and I’ll grab coffee. Then we can put the Disney parade on and open presents.” I told her, motioning her and the dog ahead of me.

“Did he send you…” She asked with a shit eating grin shot over her shoulder, teasing me.

“Yes, I’m sure he sent a few ‘good morning’ and ‘Merry Christmas’ texts to me. Hell, it’s almost 11 back there…I’m sure Lisa’s cooking up a storm, Chris, Scott and Ryan are probably on toy assembly duty, or outback playing snow football…” I smiled, picturing everything in my head perfectly. My mom just stopped, standing in the doorway, watching me closely. “ _What?_ ” I asked, brows pinching in confusion.

“Nothing.” She smiled sadly, reaching out to touch her hand to my face. “This is your last Christmas just being ‘mine’, _isn’t it_? Next year, you’ll be back east, won’t you?”

Nodding, I confirmed her suspicions.

“ _Probably._ ” I said. “Boston’s pretty in the fall, maybe you and Will…?”

“Ohhh… _I don’t know_.” She sighed, flustered and shaking herself out of the little sad cloud that settled around her at thinking of the future. “We left the snow for a reason, sweetheart. Why do you think we moved to the desert? But, we’ll see…Amy and Kimmy, they won’t come out for Christmas, so I’ll run it past Will…-” I could see her disappointment in Will’s daughters for not coming to visit at all since they moved two years earlier, seven months after I had moved to Vegas, but when she looked me dead in the eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh when she said, in the way only a mom can when sensing impending grandchildren, “-but I’ll promise you right now, Kathryn Elizabeth…if you give me a _reason_ to be in Boston next Christmas, I’ll be there, blizzard be damned!”

“ _No pressure_ , or anything, right?” I laughed out loud. She only leveled a narrowed eyed stare at me, telling me she was serious, but the tiny curling of the corners of her mouth gave her away. At Chris’ insistence, I had called my mom once I got back from my week in Boston, setting up time to have lunch with the intention of telling her about what had happened on my way home from Atlanta, to explain my ‘can’t talk right now’ behavior the week after, to tell her Chris and I were engaged and would be actively working on starting a family with the coming New Year.

“ _‘No pressure’_ …-” She parroted, blowing a raspberry at me before pointing out with her finger twirling closer and closer to my face, “-excuse me, but _WHO_ is the one popping prenatal vitamins like candy? Oh, you thought I didn’t know? You didn’t do a very good job of stashing them away last night, darling…”

“Ummm…they were in the _**BOTTOM**_ of my bathroom bag! **_YOU_** were snooping!” I laughed incredulously, but not at all surprised. “Mom…you gotta stop doing that! I’m not a kid anymore, and hell! You didn’t do that when I was a kid!-” I pointed out, bemused and shaking my head at her before reminding her, “-This isn’t like you casually snooping through stuff in the garage and finding that pack of flavored cigarillos when I was twenty and attempted to smoke for, like a week! This is between me and Chris. I love you, and I know you want grand-babies, but you’re not going to be _that_ involved in my marriage…his king sized Tempurpedic is only big enough for the both of us and the dog.”

“ _Patti…_ ” I heard my step dad call from the kitchen, his tone somewhat exasperated. “ _She’s a grown woman now…_ ”

“She’s _MY_ baby!” She exclaimed, stepping forward to wrap her arms around me tightly.

“Well, _YOUR_ baby has to pee before she leaves a puddle on the carpet. Stop squeezing, or I’m blaming it on Cassie!” I reminded her with a pat to the back, willing my bladder to hold out a few more seconds before she disengaged and I turned, rushing into the bathroom, not even caring that the door hadn’t closed all the way as I pulled my pants down and took a seat.

Cassie’s nose pushed the door open, and the rest of her soon followed; her boxy head rested on my lap, a huge dopey grin on her pale yellow face, reminding me of Chris.

“ ** _Maaa_ …**”

“ ** _Whaaaaaat?_** ” Her answer came a second before she peeked in the door at me.

“Can you close the door for me?” I asked with a smile. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she pulled the door shut behind her. 

Looking down at Cassie’s face, I pressed the home button on my phone to unlock it, pulling up my camera to snap a picture to attach to my good morning text to Chris in a second, unable to pass up the photo opportunity she presented me with, knowing it would get a laugh from him.

Walking out a few minutes later, my bladder empty, and an adorable picture ready to be sent, I made my way to grab some coffee; I found two brand new oversized coffee mugs sitting on the counter waiting for me, one was royal blue with big Captain America shields on the outside, the other was a molded cup in the shape of Hank the Septopus from Finding Dory. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the note propped up next to it.

## To start your collection together, direct from Disneyland. Wish you could have joined us, Chris!-Love Mom and Will.

Quickly I snapped another photo, making sure to get the note. Typing out a short message of my own, I sent both pictures racing across the country before setting my phone down to pour my Christmas coffee in my grumpy octopus mug, getting it just right so we could get down to business.

“Are you almost done in there? Hurry up!”

Sighing, I rolled my eyes in exasperation as I picked up my phone in one hand, my mug in the other with Cassie acting as my shadow on my way into the living room. Mom and Will sat on the couch, waiting…well, Will waited patiently, my mother looked like a five year old about to burst from sheer giddiness at opening presents, which were all stacked and arranged in front of the couch before her.

“Thank you for the mugs.” I said as I stepped over a stack of boxes to take up my preferred spot on the couch. My ass hadn’t even met the plush cushion when my phone vibrated in my hand; the picture of Chris assigned to his contact in my phone, one of him laughing hysterically as he opened my gift basket a little over a week earlier when he surprised me for my birthday, appeared on my screen, and I felt a mile wide smile break over my face. Accepting his call, I pressed the speaker button, telling him, “Hi Handsome, you’re on speaker…”

His chuckle sounded, a soft, ‘ _Oh shit…_ ’ permeated from my phone. Mom and Will called their greetings and ‘ _Merry Christmas, Chris!_ ’ as the background noise from his end told me the house was already full as his mother’s side of the family showed up to celebrate.

“Merry Christmas!” He spoke, a faint stomping could be heard as the noise faded and his voice got louder and more clear. “How’s your morning?”

“Well, I just got woke up, grabbed my first cup coffee, and sat down to open presents, since Mom is practically bouncing right off the couch-” I told him as a yawn slipped out. Her indignant ‘I am not!’ got a snicker from his end of the conversation. “-I saw you sent messages and pictures…but I haven’t had time to look at them yet…”

“Open your presents. Put me on Facetime, and I’ll watch if you want, or you can call me back when your done…I just wanted to say good morning. I miss you.” He told me; I could hear the smile in his voice, making my own grow even bigger. 

The sound of a picture being taken told me my mother had her 6+ held aloft, taking photos of me smiling at my phone.

“Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll call you back, okay? Let me appease the beast that is my mom-” Her protest sounded loudly, making all of us, Chris included snicker, “-let me grab breakfast, then I want to hear all about your morning.” I told him, not looking up from my phone screen to flip my mom the finger as her camera clicked a couple of more times.

“Okay. Talk to you in a little bit.” He said.

“Okay, _I love you_ …” I grinned. The clicking stopped, so I looked up and still found my mom holding her phone in the air. She was videoing us, I just knew it, so I stuck my tongue out at her, causing my stepfather to chuckle.

“I love you too, Tinkerbell. Bye, Baby.”

A loud ‘ _AWWWWWWW_ ’ met my ears, and I couldn’t stop the blush from coloring my cheeks as I held my middle finger high once more, smiling at my phone as I signed off, telling him softly, “Bye.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, and I sat with a stack of gift cards next to me, half a dozen movies and DVD boxed sets on the coffee table in front of me, the king sized micro-fleece blanket I had been eyeing and a stocking full of candy, socks and underwear sat in my lap. It had been a good haul, all things I had mentioned I liked, wanted, or had been putting off buying for myself. A couple of presents sat wrapped next to me, waiting for Chris to open when I next saw him…little did my mom know it would be only a couple of days away, but then again, nobody besides us really knew what was about to happen in the coming week…

Mom stood, offering to fill my cup again since that was were she was headed, back to the coffee pot. The parade played in the background, showing both Disney parks as I handed over my molded cup and lifted my phone to finally look at the long list of messages that kept accruing thanks to the different group chats blowing up my phone with conversations and holiday wishes.

Starting with the most important conversation first, I opened Chris’ messages, scrolling up to find his first video.

_“Morning, Gorgeous. Merry Christmas! I wish you were here, but since you aren’t…I figured we’d start your morning off right-”_ Chris said, directly into the camera, a sleepy grin lifting one side of his tired face. I laughed, my face going from silly smile of my own to an amused frown as he flipped the camera around; instantly I saw Miles and Ethan wrestling on the floor in front of Chris, Stella’s wild hair sticking up on one side as she chastised her older brothers to stop. _“Hey, everybody say ‘Hi’!”_ His voice instructed as he panned over the other nine faces in the house, the canines scattered among the bodies as a cacophony of greetings clashed in the recording. Smiles accompanied ‘hellos’ as the camera scanned across the living room of Lisa’s house coming to eventually rest on the tree and all the presents underneath, including the one’s I had sent back to Boston with Chris the week before when he had surprised me, showing up on my doorstep with Sprinkles, champagne, a smile and big red bow stuck to his jacket. His low whistle of appreciation at the amount of stuff under the tree had me chuckling as his voice said, _“Here’s the before…”_

That video ended abruptly, so backed out of it to see his next message, which was another video. Pressing the bubble, it pulled up, showing the aftermath. 

Wrapping paper littered everything in Lisa’s living room, looking like the wrapping department of Santa’s Workshop had exploded. Boxes and bags laid haphazardly throughout the room, casualties of the Christmas chaos as they got tossed in the excitement. Carly’s husband, Ryan sat on the floor to Chris’ left, propped against the couch with an assortment of tools close by to aid in assembling toys; Scott sat a little ways in front of Chris’ legs, acting as Stella’s model while she dressed him up and gave her uncle a makeover, trying to recreate the things I had shown her about makeup.

_“And here’s the after…there’s no reusing boxes, tissue or wrapping paper in this family, I can tell you that.-”_ He narrated, the camera tilting to the carpet as his hand came into frame, snagging a box next to his foot to hold up; it barely held together as he displayed it for the camera, adding in a dramatic voice, _“-We were too late…just couldn’t save them…”_

“What a _goober_ …” I said quietly to myself, as I went through all his messages, live texting me as things happened-’twenty minutes in, and two toys were broken or malfunctioning’ one had updated…another told me of Dodger already having his new squeaky toy gutted and Chris having to pull stuffing from his throat…one contained a picture of Scott after Stella had finished her makeover, and he looked more like Mimi from The Drew Carey Show than Barbie. Finally I got to the end of his texts and went through the rest to send generic ‘Merry Christmas’ messages to family and friends that had thought of me before my mom returned fresh from another cigarette with steaming mugs in hand.

* * *

Off and on throughout the day, we messaged back and forth. I had gotten into a Dubsmash battle with my cousins and nieces, and had accidentally sent one to Chris. It consisted of me dubbing the scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where the elderly aunt begins reciting the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ while saying grace, complete with theatrics and hamming it up for the camera. Realizing what I did after hitting send, I texted him.

**_Shit. I didn’t mean to send that to you…oops :} And I’m not even drinking yet!_ **

**Hahaha I was gonna say…**

**I love it when you wear your glasses. You look all nerdy and adorable, you know that, right?**

**_Quit trying to get in my pants from the other side of the country, your dick ain’t THAT big… };)_ **

**(GASP) I’ll remember that, Missy! I guess you don’t want this then…**

That text was accompanied by a photo of Chris and Scott standing in front of the full length mirror in the entryway, smiling and cheesing for the mirror selfie…with wrapped present boxes in front of their crotches, without the aid of hands to support them.

Throwing my head back, I burst out laughing as my left arm dropped to the couch, still holding my phone, my right clutching my chest. I so was consumed in my fit of laughter that I hadn’t heard my mom’s camera clicking away as she took burst after burst of photos of me losing my shit.

“What’s so funny?” I heard my mom ask. She moved closer to me on the couch, looking to peek at my phone. I lifted it, showing her the picture and cracking up all over again. “Yup…he’s _yours_ alright. Never did I think we’d find the male equivalent of you, but there he is…”

Wheezing out a laugh as I wiped my eyes free of hysterical tears, I nodded; “’…and that’s the way you do it, **it’s _MY_ dick in a box!** ” I sang, off key, as I typed a response back to him.

**_I legit just grabbed my boob, nearly fell off the couch laughing my damn ass off because of this picture! It’s my new wallpaper on my phone. Thank you…that was amazing._ **

**You’re welcome. X**

It wasn’t too much later when another text came into my inbox, this time it was from Scott-

**Christmas music on…silly family sing and dance along about to commence. I’ll send you the blackmail…make sure you get a copy made. Wish you were here Kay! xoxo**

I was only half watching Holiday Inn, curled up next to Cassie with a mug of cocoa when my phone alerted me to the arrival of an incoming message; lifting the phone, I opened the video, calling my mom over to watch with me.

The video opened on Scott as the beginning of Mariah Carey’s cover of ‘ _Baby Please Come Home_ ’ started up. It had to have been taken much earlier in the day, as it was only Chris’ immediate family, and the lighting was natural and bright.

“ ** _Ohhhh my GOD_**!” I laughed as he lip synced along with Mariah, showing off the winter wonderland in the backyard behind him, the snowmen dotting the open space; the scenery changed as he went back inside, moving to stand next to Lisa at the kitchen counter. She looked up, confused as to what was happening until she realized Scott was recording, smiling and singing along before he moved to Carly and Shanna on the other side of the oven. Standing between his sisters, they started moving in sync, getting into the music like the Supremes or the Ronettes with their shoulder action and facial expressions, the girls acting as Scott’s backup singers; as the saxophone solo started, he went sprinting towards the living room before the next verse picked up. The Christmas tree came into view and the kids got up to dance, spinning and dancing in circles behind Scott; Chris came poking his head into frame, one eyebrow raised sky high, laughing as Scott hammed it up before grabbing him and throwing his free arm around his neck. Scott’s mouth stopped lip syncing to tell his big brother ‘I’m sending this to Kay’ just as Mariah sang ‘ _And all the fun we had last year!_ ’; the mega watt smile that spread over Chris’ face had me tearing up as he took over, snagging the selfie stick to really get into his performance of the last hook, complete with Scott in the background doing his best Mariah impression with his hands waving about his face as she hit the high notes and ran the scale before the song faded out, and Chris grinned like a lovesick fool at the camera as the video cut off.

Looking up from the screen, I covered my mouth to stifle my uncontrollable giggling; my mother sat staring at me with a happy grin on her face, shaking her head.

“I _can’t wait_ to meet them, if that’s what they’re like all the time…I’m glad! You really do fit right in with them, sweetheart. His brother sure is something else, isn’t he?”

“You have _NO_ idea, Mom… _NO IDEA_!” I said as wiped away the tears from laughing as hard as I did at my crazy brother-in-law and his shenanigans.

* * *

The afternoon and evening was full of more brief conversations, video after video hit my inbox to let the few members of his extended family I had met in the two visits back to Massachusetts say hello and wish me a Merry Christmas…to show me the spread Lisa and the girls had put together for dinner…to show snippets of the white elephant exchange among the adults…to watch the snow fall back East as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds in the high desert and roadrunners dashed through the neighborhood at my mom’s house. I had to recharge my phone four times throughout the day because I spent so much time on it, staying connected to Chris even though he was thousands of miles away.

* * *

We had been hunkered down on the couch relaxing, watching movies, and eating ice cream when I heard faint snores to my right; turning, I found Mom asleep, her ice cream tub about to spill what remained of it’s melted contents into her lap. She had fought so hard, trying to stay awake through our partial Middle Earth marathon, but she just couldn’t win the fight it seemed, passing out during the Desolation of Smaug. 

Smiling over at my stepdad, we got her up and on her way to bed. I took care of the ice cream, stashing what was left of my tub in the freezer and throwing out her practically empty one into the garbage. I told her and Will goodnight, heading in to check in with Chris one last time, hoping he was still up. It was nearly two in the morning back east, but when I texted him, his response was almost instantaneous.

**_You still up?_ **

**Yeah…you getting ready for bed?**

**_I retired to my room, but I’ll probably be awake for a little bit longer._ **

**_I just turned the TV on, started surfing channels and guess what I came across?_ **

I had sent him that last message, the time stamp alerting me to him reading it and the next thing I knew, his incoming call appeared on my phone. I accepted, and his voice emanated from the ear piece.

“Hey Baby.” He greeted me, a smile apparent in his voice. I clicked the speaker phone and could instantly hear him better. The sound of a door pulling shut met my ears, followed by an engine turning over.

“Hey… _are you driving_? Babe, haven’t you been drinking?” I asked, worried.

“ _Nah_ , somebody had to stay sober…it was my turn this year-” he chuckled as I heard the sound of Bluetooth connecting in the car. “- _Gahd_ , I can only imagine… _which_ movie, babe?” he asked, his tone embarrassed as the faint sound of gears changing floated through the speaker on my phone; I could just imagine the pinched and pained face he made as he waited for me to tell him which of his movies I had on.

[Originally posted by singfromthehair](https://tmblr.co/ZK7RTu1tL9pMu)

“’Post apocalyptic train rebellion, with a grumpy, crusty, bearded baby eater’…” I smiled, glancing from the screen of my phone up to the television. It had only just begun, Edgar was chasing Timmy for his protein block. Flicking my eyes back to the smaller screen I held in my hand, I told him in mock seriousness, “It’s just **_not_** Christmas until I’ve watched you overthrow the class system on the Rocking Ark…”

He chortled; I knew he was shaking his head from side to side in amusement.

“You wanna watch a government fall, you’re better watching Die Hard, babe.” He joked, trying to deflect his embarrassment at my tiny show of pride in one of his greatest, and one of my favorites, of his movies. “Why you gotta bust my balls, woman? It’s Christmas!”

“Because I _can_ , _because_ it’s Christmas…and you wouldn’t have it any other way!” I laughed, his hearty chuckles coming through my phone as I continued teasing him, “I mean, I _would_ have preferred watching The Golden Girls, but stupid Hallmark is still playing Christmas movies…”

“Didn’t you get the _entire collection_ on DVD today?” He laughed.

“ _Uh huh…_ ” I yawned my confirmation which only set him off all over again. 

“You’re a nerd…” Chris told me; I couldn’t help but smile at the statement, something that had become a loving term of endearment between us. “You still have that present I left for you to open…but only when I told you to?”

“Yeah.” I answered, climbing off the bed to cross the room, grabbing it from the floor where I had set while unpacking the bag I brought with me three days earlier; setting it on the bed, I smiled as I climbed up, resuming my position in the middle of the bed, amongst my cocoon of pillows. “ _Do I get to open it now_? It’s been driving absolutely insane!”

“Not yet…I’m still driving, but I’m _almost_ there…” He said slowly, as if he was busy looking for something, a street sign or turnout in the dark. “I wanna watch you open it.”

“Almost _where_? Chris, _why_ are you driving? It’s gotta be…almost two in the morning, and the roads must be _iced over_! I’m sure you had _SOMEWHERE_ for Bobby or Michael, or whichever one of your cousins is _too smashed to function_ to crash for the night!” I pointed out, worried about him being out in the weather and driving so late. “It’s your Mom’s house, there’s enough sleeping surfaces to host the National Guard if she needs to!”

“I had a special delivery to make. And ** _I promise_** -” He told me as a soft rhythmic ‘clicking; sound told me he had put on his blinker. “-the roads are clear. _No ice_!”

I let out a low growl of annoyance, letting him know I wasn’t happy about him being out and about so late. Chris’ deep chuckle let me know he found my frustration amusing.

The muted crunch of his tires outside the bubble of the car’s interior told me he had pulled off, no doubt reaching his destination.

“ _Okay, babe_ …let me take care of getting this stuff inside, and I’ll call you back in a minute.” He told me as the engine cut off. “ _Then_ you can open your present.”

“ _You’re lucky you’re cute, Evans…_ ” I grumbled, earning another laugh from the other end of the line.

“My **_impressive cahk_** has **nothing** to do with it either, _right?_ ” He asked sarcastically as the dinging of the driver’s door opening came through, followed by the crunch of him stepping out of the car.

“No, your _devil magic penis_ has **nothing** to do with it…and you’re lucky I’m sequestered in my room and **not** out in the living room with my mom and stepdad, because that would have been _**REEEEEALLY** awkward_ …” I laughed, smiling widely and loving his mouthy attitude. “Go take care of what you have to…I’ll just be sitting here, watching you lead a revolution… _alone_ …on Christmas.” I sighed dramatically; his soft snickering met my ear.

“ _So sassy tonight_ …okay, Tinkerbell, I’ll call you in a few. Love you.”

It was less than five minutes later when his name lit up my screen, the request to Face Time loud and clear. I lifted my phone, my thumb pressing the button to accept the call.

He stood inside now, an off white wall behind him when the call connected and the image focused. 

“Hey…” He grinned, telling me, “Alright, go for it, but turn the light on, so I can see you!”

I leaned over, reaching across the edge of the bed and down to turn the side lamp on, Chris’ muffled ‘ _Yeah!_ ’ sounded from the speakers when my phone ended up pressed against my boobs. 

I sat back, sending him an amused smirk as his finger pointed back at my cleavage in the t-shirt and sports bra before he whispered “ _Please?_ I miss them…”; I rolled my eyes but my finger caught the v-neck of the collar pulling it and the sports bra away from my body to point the camera down into my cleavage, giving him what he wanted.

“Better?” I asked.

The answer I got in return was a happy hum and a muttered, “It’ll do for _now_ …”

Propping my phone against a pillow I moved to the end of the bed, I held the wrapped present up, smiling at him before I began tearing into the pretty paper, a red, green and black plaid pattern. Chris’ handwritten tag stating-

##  _Wishing I was there…wishing you were here…though miles apart, you’re always in my heart.-C_

I looked up, sniffing as I smiled at him, setting it aside to keep. The plain white t-shirt box I unwrapped was unassuming, but he encouraged me to keep going from the smaller screen, his face warm, soft, and excited as he watched me tear the tape securing the lid; lifting the lid and then the tissue paper, I gasped at what I found inside-an envelope sitting on top of a decent sized slim wrapped box, a smaller square box tied with a ribbon and a small wrapped rectangle arranged among the tissue paper.

‘ _Instructions_ ’ had been written on the front of the envelope. I picked that up, glancing to the camera where I found him beaming back at me with a dopey smile; I laughed, slightly embarrassed at his close attention as I pulled the flap from where it had been tucked inside.

“Read it out loud.” He told me softly.

“You know what it says, _you wrote it_!” I reminded him while I pulled the paper from the envelope, loving his thoughtfulness in the effort he had to have put into this without even really getting into anything yet. He really was the sweet, romantic guy he proclaimed to be, something I had certainly already become familiar with, but this was more than any of the other displays he’d showered me with, and I felt my eyes begin to water and willed the tears to chill, at least until I had a reason to cry, which I knew would be soon…His face said ‘ _Humor me_ ’ when I swallowed back the emotions and looked to him once more. 

“ _Fiiiine…_ ” I sighed dramatically, rolling my eyes for show as I read the paper aloud.

_Step 1-Cut a hole in a…_

_Just kidding, baby…_

Shaking my head, I chuckled, looking up from the paper to say, “Asshole”; Chris just snickered.

    _If you’re reading this, it means Christmas is most likely over, well…for me at least. I wish that our ‘first’ Christmas together could have ACTUALLY been ‘together’, but in a matter of days, it won’t matter because you’re gonna be my wife. I just spent the last month stressing and worrying, and trying to come up with what to get you for our first Christmas, and nothing I came up with seemed right…until your second trip to Ma’s and things seemed to start clicking into place. This what I came up with…just open the packages in numerical order, and don’t hold back, ‘cause just like Santa, I’ll be watching.  
_

_I love you. So very much. Roughly 57 hours until I get to kiss you again, give or take ;)…-Love, Your soon to be husband, the man planning on knocking you up and giving you the world, C_

Covering my open mouth, I let out a soggy laugh, needing to collect myself before looking to him. His face was incandescent. 

Pulling my hand away, I fanned myself to help with my emotions, but they got the better of me as I felt my eyes well and the first tiny tear rolled over the lip of my lower lid.

“You _asshole_.” I smiled, setting his letter on top of the gift tag off to the side, looking for the package marked ‘#1’, but I couldn’t find it.

“Look under the smaller packages…” He grinned like the Cheshire Cat, his chin in his hand, hiding his face while I removed the smaller box and wrapped object, feeling something semi soft under the crinkle of tissue paper. I moved the filler back to find a pair of Mickey ears with the Disneyland logo folded to fit inside the bigger box with a tag attached that read _‘#1 Turn me over, babe. →_ ’. I did as instructed, and found the back embroidered with ‘ ** _Evans_** ’ in golden script, popping against the black background. Speaking up, Chris explained, “That was why Josh and I went to Disneyland…I snuck off and got those for you after you left L.A. this last time…I’ll wear mine if you wear yours when we go…”

“ _Always._ ” I sniffed, holding the ears tightly to my chest; dashing a finger under my eye, I confessed, “Chris…I’m afraid to open the rest if they all are going to be like _this_ …”

“Baby, you’ve cried enough _sad tears_ in the last month alone…these are all supposed to be _happy tears_. Like I said in that letter, ‘Don’t hold back’, I wanna see your honest reactions!” Chris told me, his voice sounding tight and thin, betraying his losing battle over control of his own emotions while watching me.

I set the ears down in my lap, reaching for the second package. The small box had ‘ _#2_ ‘ written on the tag taped to the paper; diving in with gusto once the tag was placed in the pile with the other items I wanted to save, I realized it was a hinged jewelry box. Lifting the lid, I saw the thin copper cuff bracelet with ‘ _Just Keep Swimming_ ’ stamped into the surface and couldn’t fight the tears, clapping a hand over my mouth.

“ _Look on the inside, Kay…_ ” Chris said quietly, his loud intake of breath clearing his suddenly stuffy nose; glancing to the screen, I saw he was wiping his eyes free of tears as well. One side of the cuff had tiny feet stamped there, while the other had ‘ _KC 2016_ ’. “I had a friend make of Shanna’s make that for you. So you have her-” he told me, pausing to swallow his bubbling emotions before continuing with, “-…so you have her with you, always. I had them make a coin with ‘ _KC_ ’ on one side, and ‘ _2016_ ’ on the other for me…it’s on my chain with my St. Christopher’s medallion.” His hand dug under the collar of his shirt to pull the chain, holding the new coin and his medallion up for me to see.

Looking at him, my chin quivered, and took a deep breath; I took the bracelet from the box, pushing my wrist through the cuff opening, my right hand covering it as though it would transmit the touch and emotions to our lost little baby pea, telling her how much we still loved and wanted her; tears slipped from my closed eyes as I sent up silent words of love for the baby we’d never know before I shook myself to keep going and not dwell…something that Chris and I had discussed, keeping myself from ‘treading’ and to ‘just keep swimming’.

“You _okay_?” He asked quietly, guilt apparent in his voice. 

I nodded, blowing a heavy breath from the ‘o’ my lips formed to calm and collect myself before sniffing loudly and moving onto the next package.

Small and rectangular, this felt like a book; as I did like the others, I carefully unwrapped the decorations, saving the tag which read ‘ _#3 We’re merrily, merrily, merrily on our way to nowhere in particular…together_ ’. I smiled, my fingers tracing over his handwriting, loving his reference to Mr. Toad, his mad cap whirlwind adventures and the parallels to our relationship.

Tearing into the paper, I sobbed a strangled chuckle, finding a small journal that had ‘Our Adventures’ graffitied across the cover to resemble the book from ‘Up!’, complete with an ‘Ellie Badge’-the grape soda pin marking a page in the book. 

My face pinched as I bent forward, pushing my glasses up my forehead to hide my face as I began full on ugly crying at what was written under the pin.

_‘When I met you, I knew an adventure was about to begin.’- Winnie the Pooh_

    _Katie, I had no idea how true this quote would prove to be, babe…our BIGGEST one is about to begin. Baby, let’s chase the stars to Infinity & Beyond…_

“ _I hate you…_ ” I said, voice cracking as I sat completely and utterly dumbfounded, at a loss for words. His face matched mine, soggy and projecting very emotion he felt as a genuine grin of happiness and amusement lifted the left half of his face.

“ _I **love** you too_ …turn the page.” He responded, instructing me to keep going. I shifted the book into my left hand and turned the page, finding his ideas, plans, hopes, and dreams scribbled, scrawled, and doodled in the following pages, my favorite, the one I stopped on and burst out laughing over was the two pages that he had written **_‘Things we’re going to do’_** across the top of one page, with ‘ ~~ ** _Each other_**~~ ’ scribbled underneath it and crossed out followed by ‘ ** _(just kidding…but not really)_** ’ and the top of the one opposite of it read _**‘START A FAMILY!!!!!’**_ in big, bold letters; under the words, he had drawn and doodled various scenes-stick figure representations of the both of us, but my stick figure looked to be pregnant with a hippopotamus in one, another had a couple of tiny stick figures…and I was still pregnant, another had half a dozen tiny figures in ascending order…and I seemed to still be pregnant with that damn hippo, then there was half a page of little figures piled on top of each other making a pyramid with his figure scratching his head…and my figure was holding a bundle, no longer pregnant with big game, but the little bubble over his figure’s head asked ‘ _One more? Can I name it Brady?_ ’

“ ** _Four!_** ” I laughed, holding up the corresponding number of fingers to emphasize my point. “I’m only doing that **_four_** times! And **no** , you’re **not** naming our children after Tom Brady!”

His face broke into a mile wide smile as he cracked up, rocking back and forth on the edge of his bed. I sat watching him, bubble over with happiness, falling more and more in love with him every second until he stilled, sitting up straight and pointing at the camera, saying, “One more…the big one!”

Reaching to lift it out of the box, I paused, looking over at the phone to tell him sincerely, “Chris…whatever’s in here, I just what let you know, _nobody_ ever does this to me-” I pointed at my tear stained and puffy eyes, making sure he got a good look at the flabbergasted and speechless expression I wore, how my voice was so full of the happy emotions it kept cracking, making him understand this was a big deal as I went on explaining, “- ** _I_** do this to people! There have been two other times in my life where presents were so thoughtful, and meant so much, that I was at a loss for words, and actually broke down and cried…so no matter what’s in this box, I want you know _how much_ this means to me, _how much I love you…_ ”

His mouth pressed into a thin line, the corners curling down as he welled up again while I pulled the last package into my lap, looking at the tag I plucked from the wrapping paper.

_‘Once upon a time…_ ’ it read; I closed my eyes,taking a second to prepare myself for whatever awaited me underneath the pretty rustic, woodsy printed paper before tearing it open.

“ _Oh my God, Chris!_ ” I gasped, stunned at what I saw when I opened my eyes; the Apple logo in the center of an iPad sat staring back up at me. My eyes cast up at my the screen of my phone as my right hand covered my mouth in shock.

“Keep going… _you’re not done yet_.” He smiled, coaxing me to go on. “The iPad is actually a belated birthday present…even though, technically, it _WAS_ in your possession _ON_ your birthday, you just _didn’t know it_ …”

I sat staring at the lid of the box in my lap, just shaking my head in disbelief for a moment longer before lifting it off to see what else awaited me; the usual Apple packaging kept the device safe and secure, until I pulled the top piece away and found an extra large Post-it note from my love sitting stuck to the tempered glass screen protector.

‘ _Things me and this iPad both say-’ **Come on, Baby…turn me on.** ’ 1. Just to show you how much I care, I made you a playlist, b/c I gotta make my girl a ‘mixtape’. Listen to it after you do this next step…Step 2, iMovies. There may or may not be a little something special waiting there for you, Princess *wink wink* (And no, it’s not THAT kind of video…get your mind out of the gutter, I know it’s been over a week, but geez…let me think you miss more than my **massively** impressive dick, babe)_ ’

“You doofus.” I exhaled, peeling the sticky note from the screen and laying it on the pile of other tags and instructions, unable to stop my smile from growing to max capacity; I powered up the device, choking up at the picture of us snuggled on the couch in front of the fire at Lisa’s. One of his siblings or Lisa had taken that candid, and he uploaded more than just a movie and music, because another candid picture showed behind the folders as the background wallpaper.

“When was this picture taken?” I asked, holding up the screen to show the one of us kissing, my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs around his waist, sitting on a bar stool, pulling him against me as he smiled mid kiss.

“At the bar, in Atlanta. Seb took it. That was _after_ I got you down off of Hemsworth the **third** time but _before_ you made all the guys give you ‘Super Hero’ lapdances. _I love that picture_ …he sent it to me the next day, and I printed it out and _hung it up_ in my trailer.” Chris confessed, the barest hint of a blush tinting the exposed skin of his cheekbones that wasn’t already rosy from the cold air outside. “There are _more_ pictures of you, me, and both of us in the photo gallery, but pull up the video… _then_ you can see what other goodies are on there.”

Scanning the app buttons, I found iMovies and pressed it. It only took a second to click on the ‘theater’ option; a video awaited me.

“ ** _Jesus, Chris!_** ” I exclaimed, seeing the running time in the corner-it clocked in at not quite twenty minutes; he chortled, a deeper blush coloring his cheeks. “Are you _sure_? You don’t need to get get back to Ma’s? It’s not, like snowing, or minus 20 degrees or something?-” I asked, worried about him being stuck out in the elements so late at night. He just shook his head ‘no’, his uneven grin calm, almost serene as he watched me; taking a deep breathe, I steeled myself, flashing my eyes wide as I said, “ _Okay_ , I’m pressing play…”

_The black screen faded in on Chris’ boyhood bedroom, closing in on the bed as the camera crossed the room; panning down onto the comforter, the camera held focus on a journal. It was a nondescript, black leather book with a fancy fountain pen keeping it company. The faint reflection of light caught in the fishing line attached to the inside of front cover could be seen as the book opened, just like the classic Disney stories began with their ornate storybooks. The very first page was bare, and followed the hardcover, magically turning to show a title page._

“Once upon a time, in a far away land…” _Chris’ voice began, reading the words on that page before telling a condensed and fairy-tale-esque version of both our early lives while various photos showing us both growing faded in and out; he had gotten a few of the pictures from my personal Facebook page’s photo albums, but they were definitely some that he could have only gotten from my mother, I noted mentally while fresh tears welling in my eyes, and I sat listening to his voice, completely wrecked at the heart, emotion and love put into this. The screen faded after his recounting of before we had met, the book open to another page, this time a date was artistically written across the paper._

“September 26th, 2016. The day my life changed for the better…forever. The night I met you.” _Chris narrated, his finger coming into frame to turn the page, showing a picture of the front of Anna and Pratt’s house. He paused briefly before moving on to the next page. He walked me through all of it, everything we’d accomplished in the short amount of time we’d been together…the following day, our first date and the first night we had slept together, him driving inland to comfort me after the tabloids and gossip sites began prying, my first trip back to Massachusetts, Atlanta and the aftermath that followed…each and every milestone paving our path to where we stood now with accompanying pictures, as well as ‘his’ commentary, ‘his’ side of the story until he reached the end of our week together for Thanksgiving and the pages gave way to his face, recording himself like a living journal entry._

“And here I am now, back in LA…” _He stated, waving a hand around the living room of the house in the Hollywood Hills. He looked a little sad, his eyes tired, red and slightly puffy as he leveled the camera with a tiny smirk, proving that he wasn’t exactly feeling ‘it’ when I saw that lopsided grin didn’t reach his eyes or affect his general body language._ “I just got home from dropping you off at LAX-” _he went on, sniffing loudly to clear his congestion away; he had been crying, and I felt my heart crack at seeing him looking so lost, forlorn and heartsick._ “-and it’s…7:30ish, in the morning. You’re probably boarding your plane, or getting ready to, right about now… ** _I miss you_**. It’s been a little over an hour since I watched you walking into the airport, and I just haven’t felt right since you slipped out of my fingertips. You don’t know it yet, but I’ll be seeing you in less than a week, and with how I feel right now, it’s five days too long!”

Sniffling from behind my hand, I wiped away tears running down my cheeks as he went on, telling me about the surprise trip he was planning on taking to spend a few days with me for my birthday before he had to head back east to meet up with the rest of his family in Walt Disney World; that clip faded to black for ten long seconds before my eyes widened at the new scene that appeared. _  
_

_It was the bedroom door entryway of the mini suite Chris had swept me off to the last two nights of our Thanksgiving trip back to his mom’s house. The white paned mini French doors that separated the sleeping quarters from the living portion of the rented room were open, the lamp on the stand next to his side of the bed illuminated the room in a warm glow, casting shadows…and I was asleep, completely unaware of what he was doing mere feet away as he backed up from the camera, a genuine grin lifting one side of his face while glancing away from where his device was propped up and recording to check if I was still passed out before he stopped at the padded bench sitting under the foot of the bed; facing the camera, he smiled, holding one finger to his pursed lips before pointing at the camera and then pointing at the lump in the covers I made. Looking straight into the camera, he winked and the piano started up, queueing the slower version of my favorite Christmas song began, Michael Buble joining in as Chris reached to the bench and lifted a stack of paper, assuming the pose Andrew Lincoln’s character took to profess his love to Keira Knightly’s in one of my favorite Christmas movies._

***I don’t want a lot for Christmas***

‘By this time next year…’ _the first page read; Chris had looked up to show the happy grin he wore, radiating from deep within before pulling it to show the second page._

‘We’ll be getting ready to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary’. _He shook his head as Michael sang about not caring about the presents under the tree. That page followed the first, drifting to the floor._

‘Hopefully it won’t just be you & me…’ _the third page stated for the moment it was in the spotlight before he pulled it to move on. The fourth had a Sharpie drawing of him, myself, Dodger and a baby._

***Make my wish come true…all I want for Christmas is you***

Pages five, six, and seven pulled lines straight from the scene in the movie.

_‘But for now, let me say…’_

_‘since it’s Christmas, & at Christmas you tell the truth’_

_‘to me…you are perfect’._

[Originally posted by thezealotsblindfold](https://tmblr.co/ZXzA2u2Bn4Mns)

The overwhelming wave of emotion that hit me had me covering my mouth to mute the sob that bubbled up as I began breaking down.

_‘I can’t imagine my life without you’_

_’ & I hope I never have to’_

_‘you are my world, sun, moon & stars’_

_’I love you…so very much’_

_’that I can’t put it into words.’_

***I just want you here tonight, holding on to me so tight…***

Chris had paused his actions in the video, wiping a hand under his eyes to get himself back in control before continuing.

***Girl, what can I do? Ya know that all I want for Christmas is you.***

_‘You are my heart & soul’_

_’Merry Christmas baby’_

_’Look up.’_

***…Santa won’t you bring me the one I really love? Won’t you please bring my baby to me?***

Looking from the screen of the iPad once it faded to black to back to my phone, the song was still playing in the background, I found my phone had disconnected the video call; panicking, I snatched it from the spot were it was propped up, frantically trying to get him back on the line, but the slow movement of the bedroom door opening caught my attention. 

There Chris stood, crying just as hard as I had been, but now he held up another sign, this one the size of a small poster; it had the same bold, black writing of his hand with the assistance of a permanent marker.

***…I just wanna see my baby, standing right outside my door! I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know!***

_‘I know it’s after the fact, but I wanted to ask again, after a big romantic gesture…’_ the sign stated, and low and behold, he dropped it to the floor, holding another sign, this one in huge beautiful calligraphy script, _‘Will you marry me?’_

***All I want for Christmas is you.***

Bending at the waist, I lost it as the song finished, breaking down in happy tears, my face in my hands as my elbows rested on my folded legs.

“ _Kay?_ ” He asked, voice cracking. He wiped his arm across his face to catch the tracks of his tears. “Those better be _happy tears_ , babe…”

“ _I feel like such an asshole!_ ” I sobbed.

“ _Why?_ ” He asked, concerned as rushed into the room; reaching the bed, he put the sign on the foot of mattress and climbed up join me, pulling me into his lap, arms wrapping tightly around me. 

“ _Look at what you did_ …for **_me_**?” I said on a soggy croak, waving my hand all around the bed at the thoughtful and priceless gift he had put together with such care before turning back to look at him; sniffing loudly as I wiped my face on my shoulder; cradling his face in my hands, practically bawling as I said,  “And you’re _**HERE**! Whyyy_? You’re supposed to be in a wedding in _two days_!” I cried. He just hit me full force with that sappy smirk.

“Scott’s covering for me…besides, **_mine’s_** more important.” He whispered, hands holding my face to wipe his thumbs under my eyes, grinning like a fool.

Sitting practically in Chris’ lap, I sat staring at him in stunned silence, laughing and crying at the same time as I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him like I’d never see him again.

“I’m an _asshole_ , and I _don’t_ deserve you!” I whispered in his ear, never wanting to let go. His sound of disagreement told me he felt differently, so I took three deep breaths to try and calm myself down so I could explain, telling him, “ _What_ did I get _you_? A gift basket of absolute shit in order to tease you about your obsessive man crush on Brady!” 

” _You’re not an asshole_ …” He reassured me, his hand stroking over the back of my head.

” _Yes, I am_! You… _you_ bought me an iPad! And Mickey Ears! You had a bracelet made for me so I can have our baby with me always! You _made_ me the sweetest, most romantic video…and _then_ you up and left your family **ON** Christmas to fly across the country…for **_ME_**! And all _I_ got _you_ was pajamas and ugly sweaters!” I said in between gasping breaths, wiping my fingers under my eyes.

“Baby… _shut up and listen to me, please_!” Chris laughed, sitting back from his tight hold on me to show me what he wore under his jacket; he unzipped the front and there was the cardigan style ugly sweater decorated to show his Pats pride, and under that, the shirt of an artists rendered portrait of Tom Brady decked out in the Captain America cowl peeked out, a portion of the gear I had bought for him and arranged in his special ‘ _Brady’s #1 Fan Boy_ ’ basket I had put together. “Your gift was the hit of our holiday… **everybody** _LOVED_ it. You went the funny route this time, and I love you all the more for it, because it gave the rest of the family that you haven’t met a glimpse at your sense of humor and personality! _YOU_ were a hit, and have plenty of Ma’s side of the family eagerly awaiting the day they finally get to meet you. As for _this_ -” he chuckled, shooting me that smirk, and it crinkling his eyes to show his sheer joy at my reaction, he told me, “-like I said, nothing else seemed quite right, until we watched Love Actually at the hotel and things just started clicking into place. Baby, you deserve the world, and I plan on giving it to you…”

“But, how am I supposed to top ** _that_**?” I asked, laughing with a tiny sob. “That was…what can I _EVER_ give you that’s even going to come close to that, Chris?”

“A _family_.” He smiled, soft and warm with a twinkle in his eyes. “Little shitheads with your dark hair and those gorgeous green eyes, babe…”

Smiling, I blushed as I looked down into my lap, before joking, “You better hope they don’t get the ‘Amerio’ Dumbo ears my father passed on to me…”

“ _Ehhh, they’ll grow into them_ …” He reassured me, his face unable to hide his amusement, “You did.”

Punching him lightly in the bicep, I fought back a fresh round of tears, my chin pinching and my mouth turned down in a frown. “ _Asshole…_ ” I breathed affectionately. 

“You never answered my question, Katie…” Chris smiled down at me before pointing his chin towards the signs at the foot of the bed. 

Feeling my eyebrows pinch together in confusion, I was so overwhelmed in that moment, I had completely forgotten what the sign said when I realized he was standing in my mom and stepdad’s house when he was back in Massachusetts mere moments earlier, or so I had thought.

“Which question?” I asked, blinking like a startling owl, my mouth hanging open in a tiny ‘o’.

Shifting on the bed, he reached to the signs, the ends of his fingers pinching a corner of the poster board to drag over the covers to us; he turned it right side up, and placed it in my lap.

“ _Will you marry me?_ ” Chris whispered in my ear.

“ _Chris-_ ” I sighed, my face breaking into a radiant smile as I turned my face up to meet his eyes, sparkling and transmitting just how happy he was in that moment. Breathing deep in an attempt to clear my nasal passages from all my happy, incandescent emotions, I teased him, getting sassy, saying with a playful tone, “- _I thought you **already knew** the answer to that question…_ ”

His smile grew even bigger, his left eyebrow waggling as he leaned to the right, shoving his hand into his pocket; as he withdrew, he brought a small velvet ring box with him. Sitting back in his spot, he took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before expelling it in a rush as he cracked the lid open, saying, “I _can’t_ give you _**this**_ if you _don’t answer_ , babe…”

Feeling my breath catch, I stared into the tiny box, utterly speechless. I wasn’t aware of my hand lifting to my mouth, out of it’s own volition in my shock at seeing the gorgeous ring he had picked out for me. 

A thin rose gold band, encrusted in tiny diamond chips supported a much larger center stone than I had mentioned, but was cut and set in the emerald/cushion style I had pointed out that I loved. The focal piece, that beautiful gem picked up the low lighting and sparkled like it was on fire.

“ _Kay_ …are you gonna answer me, baby?” He laughed, his forehead raised sky high, waiting for me to give any sign of acknowledgement. Grinning like the devil himself, he asked, “ _Surprised?_ ”

“ _You could say that…_ ” I finally managed to breathe, my face turning from his to the ring and back to him over and over again. Dazed, and at a complete and utter loss for words, I sat staring at Chris, my hand covering my mouth with my head barely shook from left to right. “ ** _How_** are you _real_ -” I asked, astonished, finishing with, “-and **_how_** are _you_ **_mine_**?”

“Is that a ‘yes’?” He nudged me, trying to get a definitive answer.

Lowering my hand, I felt an uncontrollable grin spread across my face, a choked giggle escaping me as I nodded, tears spilling over my eyes.

“ _Yes._ ” I told him, laughing as I sat gobsmacked, looking at my proper engagement ring, “Third times a charm, right? And **what** a charm it is!”

Chris leaned back, pulling him arm from where it wrapped around my shoulders to pluck the ring from the cushion it nestled in, dropping the box to the bed so he could take my hand; his eyes locked with mine as he slipped the physical token of his intention onto my finger, declaring for anybody to see, that I was his and his alone. 

The weight of the center stone had the ring twisting on my finger.

“ ** _Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the Saints, Christopher_**! If I wave my hand too far, I’ll go flying ass over tea kettle, it’s so heavy!” I observed, noting the added weight on my hand. My eyes rested on the new hardware, unable to turn my gaze away; whispering, I said, “Baby, it’s **too** much!”

“No, it’s not. It’s just perfect for you…” He offered softly; looking up, I caught him watching me with warm eyes and a tiny smile.

My mouth turned up at the corners as I took him in. 

“ _I love you._ ” I whispered. His face lifted at hearing my words.

“ _I love you too, babe. Merry Christmas._ ” He smiled, voice soft as he pulled pulled me to him, finally kissing me.

“ _It is now…Merry Christmas._ ”

[Originally posted by dontmesswiththeleprechaun](https://tmblr.co/Zcds-w1Ytm88y)

* * *

Stumbling out of the guestroom in Katie’s mom and stepdad’s house to the kitchen the next morning, Chris found the room occupied by his soon to be bride and in-laws, and that sweet, darling yellow lab that had greeted him upon arrival at the side door of the garage the night before. 

Cassie had been the first to notice he rounded the corner, her tail beating against the Pergo floors happily, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, happy to see him. Katie was standing at the stove, bent to peek into the window of the oven while her mom, Patti, and stepdad, Will, we standing at the long counter that created the breakfast bar, their backs to him as they huddled around plates and mugs; Patti looked up from the food on the counter top, her coffee in hand as she caught him. She turned, and walked over, her arms wide for a hug as she approached, a beaming smile on her face.

“ _There he is_! Welcome, Chris…I’m _so happy_ you’re here!”

“Thanks, thanks for helping me-” Chris smiled, still partially asleep as his future mother-in-law’s arms wrapped around him, squeezing him tight as he looked over her shoulder, smiling sleepily while giving a small finger wave to Will in greeting before turning to smile at Katie; she had stood, turned and crossed the kitchen with a huge smile of her own plastered on her face. “-helping me keep this a secret, Will!”

“Good morning.” She called softly, stopping next to him and her mother. She placed her hand on his arm for leverage as she stood on tip toes to kiss his cheek. “I take it I don’t need to introduce you properly…since they’re your conspirators…” Katie added, sinking back to the floor with a raised brow at Chris as well as her mother and stepfather, who had moved over to shake Chris’ hand for the first time in the daylight.

Grinning sheepishly, Chris ducked his face towards the floor.

He noted the tight black leggings she had pulled on, wearing shearling slippers to keep her feet warm…his gaze traveling up her body, he realized where the ‘Brady as Cap’ went. She wore it under a flannel shirt, and with her hair falling out of the bun on the back of her head, she had never looked sexier to him…until she lifted her left hand to brush hair out of her eyes and he saw his ring on her finger, a blazing beacon that set his heart on fire with love, happiness and pride.

“ _Guilty._ ” He admitted, moving to snake his arm around her waist, his lips pressing a kiss to her temple. “It was all Will, he was great…”

Looking around the kitchen, he spotted the coffee pot, a mostly full batch sat inky black in the carafe. “Coffee, babe…?”

Katie’s hand patted his belly over the plain cotton v-neck he had pulled from the top of his suitcase along with the Pat’s pajama pants Katie had gifted him, pulling them on before leaving their room.

“ _Right here, Baby…_ ” She told him, showing him where he could find mugs. The big blue Captain America cup sat staring him in the face, but he saw the oversized black Harley Davidson mug sitting further back in the cupboard. Snagging that one, he pulled it from the cabinet, and poured it full of the brew.

Inhaling, he savored the strong scent as the memory of Katie telling him her family, for the most part, drank their coffee ‘ _strong enough to stand a spoon in it_ ’, and her mother was no exception to the rule.

His rumpled purr of contentment as his first sip raced down his throat had Patti laughing, and Will chuckling from the other side of the kitchen, having gone back to making breakfast.

“ _Man after my own heart_! Come on, care to step outside with me and keep me company _while I_ …?” Patti asked, reaching for the pack of cigarettes on the counter, holding them up and giving the box and little shake.

Katie had disengaged, walking back to the stove, but she called over her shoulder, pointing at her mother, “ _NO EMBARRASSING BABY STORIES MAAA!_ ”

Patti shifted her pack of cigarettes to her other hand, already full with the handle of her mug to flip Katie off, proclaiming, “I’m _your_ mother, I can do what I want!”

“And I’m _your_ daughter, **_I’m_** the one that’s eventually picking out your old-folks home!” Katie shot right back, laughing as she squared off, mirroring her mothers pose of her head cocked to one side, her hands on her hips, staring the other down. Patti broke the stare down, waving her hand and blowing out a raspberry, walking to the front door and waving Chris to follow.

* * *

Sitting outside, he could see the mountains that separated Las Vegas from Pahrump in the distance. They were covered in snow towards the peaks, and Chris was slowly coming to regret not grabbing a sweatshirt before coming out of the house.

“How was your flight last night?” Patti asked, handing over her lighter and the nondescript box, offering him a smoke. He pulled one from the box, placing it between his lips; once he sat the box back on the little table between the chairs he and Katie’s mom occupied, he lifted the lighter, his other hand shielding the flame from the breeze as he ignited the tip.

“Wasn’t _too_ bad.” He told her, once he exhaled that first puff, his hand hanging off the end of the arm rest. “My Ma wasn’t to _thrilled_ about me up and leaving right after ‘dinner’-” He raised his arm, taking another drag, pausing to let the full effect fill his lungs, such a contrast to the chilly but dry air around him before blowing his smoke and finishing with, “-but she understood…I was moping around Disney World and the house, bringing everybody down ‘cause I missed her so much. She loves her-” Chris said, feeling he needed to let it be known that his family loved and claimed her just as much as he had, and hoped Katie’s family would do the same for him. “- _hell,_ they all do! My niece, nephews, my sisters and brother…”

Just as he said that, Chris felt his phone vibrate against his leg. Reaching in the pocket of his flannel pants, he retrieved it; Scott’s cheesy grin smiled up at him. 

“Speak of the devil…” Chris smiled, tapping on the ‘Accept’ button, Scott’s face appeared as Face Time buffered the connection. 

“ _Dude_ , I’ve been trying to call you, _why_ haven’t you answered?” Scott greeted him, annoyed. Looking at the time in the top center he saw it was almost 1PM back east.

“Shit, _sorry bro_. I _just_ woke up.” Chris yawned, his right hand holding the phone while his left held his cigarette between pointer and middle fingers while scratching his forehead with his thumb.

“‘ _Just woke up_ ’…” Scott said, making air quotes and shooting him a wink. 

“ ** _I did_** , and you should probably know that I’m **not** alone-” Chris laughed, turning the camera to show Patti sitting about a foot away to his right; she pulled her hand from her mouth, wiggling her fingers at the camera to say hello. Scott cursed, apologizing as Chris introduced his brother, “-say hello to my future mother-in-law. Patti, this is my brother, Scott…Scott, Katie’s mom, Patti.”

They exchanged greetings and a few bits of small talk before Chris took back control of the call.

“What do you want, Scotty? Why were you trying to get in touch with me? What’s going on?”

“You haven’t checked your messages or emails?” Scott asked; Chris just shook his head.

“ _No_ …I told you, I _just_ woke up, like, five, ten minutes ago! I put some clothes clothes on, came out in search of coffee…I haven’t even had time to take a piss yet, Scott! What’s going on?”

“ _You need to see this…_ ” Scott beamed, backing out of Face Time to pull up whatever it was he was looking for; Chris watched his phone as Scott did his hunting and searching, clicking and tapping over his iPhone. A second later, a notification bubble appeared at the top of Chris’ screen alerting him to Scott’s message. He did like his brother, and multi tasked, clicking on the link he had sent. It opened, pulling up Instagram, showing Katie’s profile. 

She had posted a photo a matter of hours ago, no doubt once they finally called it a night after fooling around; Chris had fallen asleep holding Katie, but it seemed she stayed up just long enough to search out the image and post it to her profile. It had nearly three hundred ‘likes’ and while she had kept it vague on details, it was the first time she had made any sort of public declaration in regards to their relationship on social media.

Chris couldn’t help the mile wide grin that spread over his face as he stared at the screen cap from the movie she had posted before scrolling down to see Scott’s ‘like’ listed; the most recent comments all ran in the same vein.

**OMG His brother liked and commented on this…that’s enough confirmation for me!**

**Dat hashtag doe…’alliwantforCHRISmasisyou’!**

**If this is in regards to who I think it is…GET IT GURRRRRRL!**

**Did she just confirm her and Evans are together? I NEED ANSWERS!**

**They need a cute couples name!**

**Kind-of confirmation that my favorite Meatball found the type of girl he’s been preaching about for how many years now? BEST BELATED CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER! So happy for you both!**

A snorted chuckle rocked his body, his smile still plastered across his face as he scrolled to find Scott’s comment further up the thread. 

Reading it, Chris hung his head.

**Oh good, you got my gift! ;) It was getting real depressing around here, do you know just HOW many times I’ve had to listen to ‘Blue Christmas’ in the last week? Enough times that I’m pretty sure I could be an Elvis impersonator…I guess I’ll find out soon enough**


End file.
